Pass the Maté, Por Favor

I lost my hearing temporarily after last night...We went out with friends to a boliche, which is basically a dance club. Although slightly louder and crazier, the nightlife here is similar to the US, but starts later and goes on much later as well. We didn't get back home until 6:30 am and that was a bit early too!

Tonight, we had a relaxed night. Tomorrow (or...it's past midnight, so I guess TODAY) is election day and all places that sell alcohol are required by law to stop selling/serving alcohol after 8 pm. We figure this is because they don't want drunk voters...In Argentina, voting is compulsory. Everyone must vote or will be penalized. In one sense, this promotes a more well represented vote, but also runs the risk of uninformed voters making poor choices in who to elect. Either way, it will be a fascinating day.

We had our first experience of maté tonight. We went to one of our friend's house for dinner. He cooked a delicious meal. While we were cooking, Priya got the maté out. There is a culture to how to drink maté. Everyone shares one gourd and straw (called a calabaza and bombillo). One person must finish his or her cup of maté, then it is refilled for the next person to drink. It is a very social experience. When I first tried maté, which is a bunch of herbs packed into a cup with water, I felt as if I was drinking earth. It has a very woody, aromatic and muddy flavor, but with a major kick of caffeine.

In the afternoon, we are all meeting for empanadas and drinks at a cafe and to people watch. Election day should be pretty dramatic -- there could be big changes in Argentinean politics by tomorrow evening. This is a cool time to be in Argentina!